Resilience adjusting means for coil springs



April 1958 c. s. COPELAND 2,829,883

RESILIENCE ADJUSTING MEANS FOR COIL SPRINGS Filed Feb. 14, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOL C.S.COP.LAND

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United States Patent RESEIENCE ADJUSTING MEANS FOR COIL SPRINGS This application is a continuation-in-part United States patent application Serial Number 558,099, filed January 9, 1956, now abandoned.

This invention relates to means for adjusting the resilience of coil springs, and particularly to means for counteracting a loss of resilience in the individual front wheel suspension springs of an automobile.

Coil springs which are under a sustained load tend to lose their resilience and become too short. This is particularly true of the helical coil springs of the individual front wheel suspension or knee-action mechanism of autom the form of lifts or spacers to be inserted between adjacent coils of a coil spring to increase the height and the effective resilience of the spring. In an automobile, this will re-establish the normal height of the front end of the automobile, and correct the camber adjustment and other part relationships.

A further object of the invention is to provide such means for restoring the proper height of coil springs that can be installed singly or in any number required, by any competent workmen without special equipment and without the necessity for dismantling the mountings of the spring the height of which is to be increased.

Another object of the invention is to provide an article to serve these purposes that can be formed cheaply from sheet steel stock.

In the accompanying drawings, in which each part is denoted by the same reference character throughout all views,

Fig. 1 is a front elevational view of the right front wheel suspension of an automobile showing the device according to the invention installed in the coil spring of the suspension.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of one of the spacers according to one form of the invention.

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a spacer as shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of a metal blank from which the spacer as shown in Figs. 2 and 3 is formed.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of one of the spacers according to another form of the invention.

Fig. 6 is a top plan view of a spacer as shown in Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a plan view of a metal blank from which the spacer shown in Figs. 5 and 6 is formed, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary view showing spacers of the type illustrated in Figures -57 installed in a coil spring.

In the form shown in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings, the spacer is a shaped, bent piece of relatively thick sheet metal, formed from a blank, such as blank 10 shown in Fig. 4, by means of a suitable forming die. The blank 10 is rectangular in general outline, with its opposite side edges 10 tapering inwardly from both ends 10 toward the middle. Near the ends 10 there are arc-shaped notches 11 in the tapered edges of each wing, and inward of the notches some metal may be removed to reduce the weight, for instance, by providing holes 12.

In forming thespacer from the blank, the blank is bent at its middle portion, preferably on a relatively small radius, for instance of about one-sixth the length of the blank, providing a connecting or nose part 13 joining relatively flat wings 14, preferably diverging in relatively flat planes from the nose part. Each of the wings has a narrow front end formed by the narrow middle of the blank, and a wide rear end formed by the ends 10 of the blank. The side edges of the blank provide tapering opposite edges 10 extending between the ends of the body. The front ends are joined to each other by the curved connecting part 13 in such a way that the notches 11 in the edges 10 of each wing are aligned transversely with the corresponding notches in the edges of the other wing. Preferably, the nose part 13 is given an outward dimple 15 by the forming die, thus increasing the rigidity of the bend at the nose.

In the form shown in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings, the spacer is also a piece of metal sheet shaped and bent without twisting to form a body having two wings providing top and bottom edges, the top and bottom edge of each wing each having a notch spaced from and aligned transversely with the notch in the corresponding edge of the other wing. It is formed from a blank such as blank 16 shown in Fig. 7, by means of a suitable forming die. The blank 16 is oval in general outline, with its side edges l6 tapering inwardly from the middle to rounded ends 16'. Spaced from the ends 16 there are. arc-shaped notches 17 in the tapered opposite edges of each wing. To reduce weight some metal may be removed by providing holes 18 and 19 in the wings and connecting part respectively.

In forming the spacer from the blank 10, the blank is bent along the dotted transverse lines 20, preferably on a relatively small radius, to form a body having two relatively flat wings 21 preferably disposed at right angles to the connecting part. Each of the wings has a narrow front end or nose 16 formed by the ends of the blank, and a wide rear end 22 following one of the dotted lines 20. The side edges of the blank provide tapering edges 16 extending between the ends of the body. The rear ends 22 are joined to each other by a substantially square connecting part 23, so that the notches 17 in the edges 16 of each Wing are aligned transversely with the corresponding notches in the edges of the other wing.

When finished, each form of the spacer according to the invention is a piece of metal sheet that is shaped and bent to form a body that when viewed in side elevation is shaped like a somewhat truncated wedge. They are therefore adapted to be inserted front end first between adjacent turns of a helical spring.

The spacers can be easily installed in the front wheel suspension springs of an automobile, by raising one side of the front end of the car with a bumper jack and tapping the spacers between adjacent turns of the springs with a hammer, until the notches 11 receive the turns of the spring above and below the spacer. Normally, two spacers, 180 apart on the turns of the spring as shown in Fig. l, are suflicient.

If it proves difficult to insert the spacers by tapping, despite the taper of the upper and lower edges 10 a tool in the form of a flat steel bar of width equal to the height of the spacers at the retaining groovesas already stated about 1 inches-may be used. This tool is inserted, with the fiat faces horizontal,between two adjacent turns near the middle of the spring and twisted through around its longitudinal axis to dispose the flat faces vertically and thus to force the adjacent turns apart by the aforesaid distance. Two spacers are then inserted, one at each side of the tool until the notches 11 or 17 are positioned to receive portions of the adjacent turns selected. Before removing the tool, the two spacers are slid or tapped apart until they lie opposite eachother, 180 apart onrthe coils, as shown in Fig. 1. The tool is then withdrawn from the first spring and the whole operation repeated on the other side of the car.

One spacer, or more than two, may of course be used as required to restore the proper height, and where the two springs have different degrees of resiliency, the number of spacers may be varied as between the springs so as to eliminate tilt in the front end of the car.

Once inserted, the spacers are firmly held in place by the engagement of the turns of the springs by the notches 11 or 17 and the fact that the spacer wings have tapering edges and Wide rear ends that define the maximum depth of the spacers tends to prevent the spacers from being inadvertently inserted too far between the turns of the springs.

The foregoing description sets forth the best mode contemplated by the inventor of carrying out his invention, but the following claims are intended to cover all useful changes and modifications of the said mode which are within the scope of the invention.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A spacer for inserting between adjacent turns of a helical spring comprising a piece of sheet metal shaped and bent without twisting to form a bodyhaving two wings each with a narrow frontend or nose and a wide rear end and tapering opposite edges extending between the said ends, the said edges each having a notch and all the said notches being about the same distance from the said nose or front end, one of the said ends of each wing being joined to the corresponding end of the other wing by a connecting part so that the notches in the edges of one wing are spaced from and aligned transversely with the corresponding notches in the edges of the other wing.

2. A spacer as claimed in claim 1 in which the rear ends of each wing are joined to each other by a substantially square connecting part.

3. A spacer as claimed in claim 2 in Which the Wings are at right angles to the connecting part.

4. A spacer for inserting between adjacent turns of a helical spring comprising a piece of sheet metal shaped and bent without twisting to form a body having a curved nose part that connects two wings diverging from the nose part and each Wing providing top and bottom edges, the top and bottom edge of each wing having a notch spaced from and aligned transversely with a notch in the corresponding edge of the other wing.

5. A spacer as claimed in claim 4 in which the wings diverge in substantially flat planes from the nose part.

6. A spacer as claimed in claim 4 in which the upper and lower edges of the wings are tapered toward the nose from their outer ends and the notches are near the outer ends.

7. A spacer as claimed in claim 4 in which both notches in each wing are in vertical alignment with each other.

8. A spacer as claimed in claim 4 in which the nose part has an outer dimple to increase the rigidity of the bend at the nose.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 458,839 Turner Sept. 1, 1891 30 2,230,340 Shreffler Feb. 4,1941 2,621,918 Tapp Dec. 16, 1952 2,673,084 Blythe Mar. 23, 1954 

